WATCH: NFIB Endorses Lamar Alexander for U.S. Senate

Date: June 20, 2014

The National Federation of Independent Business, Tennessee's and the nation’s leading small-business association, today endorsed Lamar Alexander for a third term in the U.S. Senate. The announcement was made today at an NFIB/Tennessee event at Stowers Machinery Corp., an NFIB-member business in Knoxville.

“Our members support the members of Congress who support small business, and Senator Alexander's record speaks for itself,” said Lisa Goeas, NFIB vice president for Political and Grassroots. "He understands that we can't afford to burden Tennessee's and America's job creators with unnecessary regulations and excessive taxes that make it even harder for them to grow and create jobs."

Senator Alexander has a 100-percent NFIB voting record so far in this Congress. Also, Senator Alexander earned a 100-percent NFIB voting record in the 112th Congress, supporting key bills to reform the nation’s regulatory processes so small businesses can be more competitive (S. Amdt. 390); overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s so-called “streamlined elections” rule which would impact business owners’ rights to seek review of pre-election rulings (S.J. Res. 36); and provide tax relief to small-business owners (S. Amdt. 2573).

He also supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would have required Congress to balance the federal budget every year (S.J. Res. 10) as well as the repeal of the job-killing Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (S. Amdt. 9).

"Since his first term as governor and continuing through his time in the Senate, Lamar Alexander has consistently supported Tennessee's small, family businesses," said Jim Brown, state director of NFIB/Tennessee. "He listens to what our members have to say, and he's done everything he can to create an environment where they can succeed.

"Senator Alexander clearly understands the challenges facing Tennessee's small-business owners, their employees and their families," Brown said. "Our members count on him, just as the senator can count on our members’ support on Election Day."

Senator Alexander said, “I appreciate this endorsement by small businesses in Tennessee, and hope we can win a majority of Republicans in the U.S. Senate to lift the big, wet blanket of Obama regulations from our free enterprise system. We could start by repairing the damage Obamacare has done to our economy and instead moving in a new direction, with step-by-step reforms that increase freedom and choice and drive down the cost of health care.

“Another step would be to reverse the trend of the National Labor Relations Board becoming more of an advocate than an umpire. We need to protect the right-to-work laws of states like Tennessee, and prevent ambush elections that favor unions but hurt small businesses trying to create good jobs.”

NFIB has about 8,000 dues-paying members in Tennessee representing a cross section of the state’s economy. Alexander’s endorsement comes from NFIB’s SAFE (Save America’s Free Enterprise) Trust, the association’s political action committee, and is based on the candidate’s positions regarding key small-business issues including health care, taxes, and labor and regulatory issues.

Small-business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to go to the polls. NFIB will encourage its members to help turn out the small-business vote in August and again in November.